The South Korean government has appealed a British court’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit aimed at overturning an international tribunal’s order to pay approximately $100m in damages to US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, according to a report by the Korea Times.
The dispute began in June last year, when the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) directed the Korean government to pay $107.8m, including damages and interest, in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung Group affiliates.
Following this ruling, the Korean government filed a lawsuit in a British court in July, arguing that the PCA’s decision should be overturned due to jurisdictional issues related to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA). However, the British court dismissed the case in August, citing a lack of jurisdiction.
On Thursday, the Korean government appealed to a higher British court, contending that the August ruling contained significant errors in interpreting the Korea-US FTA. The government says it is committed to addressing these errors and rectifying the court’s decision, expressing concerns that the outcome could set a troubling precedent for similar cases in the future.
